


The Moment I Knew

by captainamergirl



Category: The Bold and the Beautiful, The Young and the Restless
Genre: Crossover, F/M, Steffy finds her way out, Steffy in Genoa City, The triangle is over, of the madhouse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-25
Updated: 2018-06-25
Packaged: 2019-05-28 07:10:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,400
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15043481
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/captainamergirl/pseuds/captainamergirl
Summary: When Steffy finally understood she deserved better.





	The Moment I Knew

** Chapter 1 **

**Early 2013**

_“Steffy honey, everything was amazing! The show was a smash success just like I knew it would be.” (Taylor, aka Mom)_

_“Steffy Forrester, you my friend, are a rock star!” (Gus, aka a Perez Hilton wannabe)_

_“I could not be more proud of you, my darling.” (Eric, aka Grandfather)_

_“Steffy, you just put us on the map tonight, do you know that? Rick is wilting over there.” (Thomas, aka Big Brother)_

_“Steffy, sorry I couldn’t make it tonight. Something came up. I bet you were amazing though. I believe in you.” (Liam, aka Lying, Soon-to-be-ex Boyfriend)_

The after party had long since worn down and there she stood in a rumpled red evening dress feeling completely forgotten. She was alone; maybe she always had been …

All the accolades she had received tonight about her fall collection seemed so unimportant now somehow - so far away they were almost forgotten. All she could think of was the one person she had wanted most to be there and wasn’t.

_Liam, that bastard._

She loved him so much. She hated that she loved him so much and yet she did. It was impossible to sever him from her heart completely – especially not when he kept giving her hope and then snatching it away.

“Speaking of Hope,” she murmured to herself as she walked out onto the terrace at Forrester Creations and watched the night sky. The stars seemed so far away they might as well have not been there at all. “Where was she tonight? Conspicuously absent, of course. As was Liam.”

And here she was alone again and even talking to herself. It was so pathetic it was almost sad or maybe just laughable. She couldn’t decide which. There was a chill in the air as she leaned against the railing and looked down below at the late night goings-on on the street below. It was pretty dead actually down there and it seemed appropriate because that’s how she felt inside. When she wasn’t feeling disheartened, disappointed and disenchanted of course.

She felt tears burn the back of her eyes but she refused to give into them. Hadn’t she cried enough over that boy? Wasn’t it time to stop the madness?

The unshed tears continued to burn her eyes and she bit her lip to keep from howling in abject misery.

She leaned against the banister for a long time and then finally turned around and started back inside. She had to go home but home didn’t seem much like a refuge anymore. _Not even close._

XoXoXo

She walked into the apartment she shared with Liam and sighed. He had insisted they move into together and now she knew why – so he could try to keep himself so busy with her that he could forgot the person he really wanted. She realized now, without a doubt in her pretty head, that she was the consolation prize for him when things went belly up with Hope. As they always did. It was their vicious cycle and she had played her part in it to the hilt.

But no more. No. No more.

The tears threatened again but she held them back like a brave girl, the girl everyone thought she was. Not the sad little girl still missing her daddy’s affection after all this time…

She went down the hall and flipped on the bathroom light. She was trying so hard not to fall apart but when she saw the dress and the mussed makeup, she felt horrified at what it represented. She quickly ripped the chiffon material from her lithe body and threw it into the trash basket. This time, the tears came with a torrent. He should have been there. He had said he would be. It was her night to shine but so much of the light had gone out of the event when he couldn’t be bothered to show his face there. She would have been so happy if he came. She would have.

The tears were fierce and shook her body. She wrapped her slender arms around her tiny body and sunk onto the edge of the tub, crying for all she was worth. She would give herself five minutes to wallow in self-pity and then she would be done. She would be.

XoXoXo

She ended up needing fifteen minutes to compose herself but reasoned certainly no one was there to give a damn at the sight of her coming unglued.

She finally got to her feet, dried her moist face on a hand towel, and then removed all her smeared makeup.

Finally she moved down the hall and started packing an overnight bag. Normally it would take her hours to pack, to gather all her fancy, sexy clothes and shoes, but this time she only wanted and needed the bare essentials. She finally got dressed in a black pantsuit and glanced in the mirror. She forced herself to smile at the image looking back at her. Fake it until you make it right?

XoXoXo

She had slung her single piece of luggage over her shoulder and was headed for the door when it opened and he walked in. For the briefest, tiniest moment, she was just glad to see his handsome, scruffy face. Just glad to know that he was alive.

But then the moment was gone and she wished he was gone, or at least that she had never met him or served her heart (and she did have one) up to him on a silver platter. She wished she was gone. Hell, she was going to leave right now.

She started to step around him but he grabbed her lightly by the wrist. “Hey, hey where are you going? It’s almost three in the morning.”

“Yep it is,” she said. Damn her. She had sworn not to say a word to him if this moment should ever happen. She kept her eyes off him though, instead fixing her stare on an art nouveau piece in the room.

“I get it. You’re mad. I can explain though.”

“I am sure you can. You always can but the thing is, Liam, this time I am not interested in anything you have to say.” She wrenched her hand free of his grasp and pushed past him.

“Wait, Stef, wait!” He called after her. “It’s not what you think. Hope and I weren’t out doing anything wrong. We didn’t cheat on you. She was just having a bad day …”

“Of course on what should have been my great day,” Steffy said. She nodded. “I get it. She broke a nail or something and needed you to hold her hand.”

“Don’t be angry, Steffy.”

“Sorry but I can’t pretend that I’m not. I can’t pretend anymore that it doesn’t hurt when you leave my side and run to hers. But the difference is that this time, I realized I am done being hurt by you. So I am leaving. Don’t try to follow. You can have Hope now if she’s really the one you want.”

“Steffy –“

“Maybe Thomas was right though. Maybe it’s not even Hope that you love. Maybe it’s the thrill of having two women battle over you, of having your cake and eating it too. But you’ll have to find another girl to play into your sick games because I am done.”

“Steffy, come on. You know I absolutely adore you. Please stay. We can work this out. Don’t get all bent out of shape. It was just a fashion show. There will be others, you know there will be.”

She wanted to slap him for his ignorant reply but she just nodded. “Goodbye, Liam. Best of luck.” She didn’t say it sincerely because she didn’t want him to be happy after causing her so much misery but maybe one day, she would be okay with what he had done. Maybe one day.

She walked past him and closed the door behind her.

He didn’t follow.

She knew she couldn’t stay in L.A. now. It would be too much of a temptation to fall back into old patterns if he looked at her in that certain way, with that radiant smile, that always made her melt inside.

She would have to go somewhere, somewhere far away. Maybe Paris or London. At the moment though, all she knew was that she couldn’t stay here.


End file.
